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Hypertension counteroffensive under way

Counteroffensive plans to lower blood pressure were described at the American Society of Hypertension’s Nineteenth Annual Scientific Meeting.

Brent Egan, M.D., Clinical Pharmacology, delivered a progress report on the model used by the American Society of Hypertension (ASH) to combat hypertension and cardiovascular disease more aggressively.

The report covered the Clinical Hypertension Specialist designation by ASH’s affiliated ASH Specialists Program Inc.; ASH’s regional chapters that take national blood pressure control messages and implement them locally; nationwide continuing medical education programs for physicians; and the establishment of  a data management infrastructure for quality improvement initiatives.

“The most recent national survey indicates more than 60 million adults in the U.S. have hypertension,” Egan said. “Hypertension is a major contributor to stroke, heart attack, heart failure, and kidney failure and is a drain on the nation’s pocketbook.

“Treatment and control of high blood pressure significantly reduce these serious complications,” he noted. “Unfortunately, about 25 million Americans do not have their high blood pressure treated, and nearly 40 million Americans do not yet have it under control.

“What is disturbing is that despite improved evidence-based treatment guidelines and greater availability of effective and well-tolerated medications, blood pressure control rates have not been significantly reduced,” Egan said.  “Changing physician behavior is needed to improve the interaction between the patients and primary care providers to enhance medication compliance and improve treatment outcomes.”

Changing demographics also point to the need for local and regional control initiatives. The median age is rising in the Sunbelt as retirees from the North relocate to warmer climates. The Southeast has a high percentage of African- Americans and the Southwest, a higher proportion of Hispanics. The United States population is getting older, and studies have identified physicians' reluctance to aggress-ively treat older people with hypertension.

ASH established the Clinical Hypertension Specialist program in 1998 to recognize physicians throughout the U.S. and Canada who are experts in the treatment of high blood pressure. The number of specialists grew from 500 to approximately 900 after the 2003 examination.

“Specialists play a pivotal role in the cost-effective treatment of hypertension,” Egan said. “They consult and provide guidance to primary care physicians, especially when managing patients with complex conditions, patients with related cardiovascular diseases, and patients whose hypertension is resistant to therapy.

“They serve as teachers in continuing education programs for physicians and other health providers,” he continued.  “Specialists are encouraged to become active in quality improvement initiatives in the community by implementing programs that improve and control outcomes. They will have increasing opportunities to participate in clinical trials to identify the most promising treatments of risk factors and for ensuring that successful management strategies are translated into community practice.

“Plans are underway to expand this network through the chapter’s 15 continuing medical education programs sponsored by ASH,” Egan explained. “Several other chapters initiated continuing medical education programs in hypertension that reach hundreds of physicians with the latest information on the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure and associated risk factors.

“ASH’s counteroffensive is aimed at equipping more providers with information to meet patient- care, educational, and research needs,” he concluded. “Meeting these needs is required to optimally control cardiovascular risk factors, reduce heart and kidney diseases and stroke, and to protect the health and economic vitality.”

ASH is the largest U.S. organization devoted exclusively to hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases. ASH is committed to alerting physicians, allied health professionals, and the public about new medical options, facts, research findings, and treatment choices designed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
 
 
 

Friday, May 28, 2004
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